Developer powder supply

ABSTRACT

A developer powder supply package in which a removable strip is secured to converging sidewalls to cover a powder discharge opening formed in the cover of a container which also has a body formed with an elongated recess for mating with a dispensing carriage extending across the exterior surface of its base. A dispensing carriage provides support for the supply package over an area into which it is desired to dispense the developer powder and is rotatable to support the package in an inverted position to dispense the developer powder from the container through the discharge opening after the strip has been removed.

United States Patent 72] inventors Larry C. Kangas St. Joseph Township, St. Crolx County, Wis.; Robert W. Carlson, Bloomington, Minn. [21] Appi. No. 867,693 [22] Filed Oct. 20, 1969 [45] Patented Nov. 9, 1971 [73] Assignee Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company St. Paul, Minn.

[54] DEVELOPER POWDER SUPPLY 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 222/166, 206/56 R, 220/4, 222/D1G. 1 [51] Int. Cl 865d 47/00 B6Sd 83/06 [50] Field of Search 206/46 R, 56 R; 220/4, 67, 23.6; 150/0.5;222/76, 166, 164, D10. 1

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,274,258 2/1942 Roselle 220/67 3,081,481 3/1963 Nohl et al. ISO/0.5 3,094,924 6/1963 Stark 206/56 R 3,212,675 10/1965 Kalewina 222/70 3,215,300 11/1965 Lynch 220/4 3,339,807 9/1967 Eichorn 206/56 R Des. 214.023 5/1969 Beaumont D9/221 Des. 218,152 7/1970 Emerson D9/207 FOREIGN PATENTS 581,059 9/1946 Great Britain 222/166 394,938 12/1965 Switzerland 220/236 Primary Examiner-William T. Dixson, Jr. A!!orney-l(inney, Alexander, Sell, Steldt & Delahunt ABSTRACT: A developer powder supply package in which a I removable strip is securedto converging sidewalls to cover a i powder discharge opening formed in the cover of a container which also has a body formed with an elongated recess for mating with a dispensing carriage extending across the exterior surface of its base. A dispensing carriage provides support i for the supply package over an area into which it is desired to idispense the developer powder and is rotatable to support the package in an inverted position to dispense the developer powder from the container through the discharge opening after the strip has been removed.

DEVELOPER POWDER SUPPLY The present invention relates to a developer powder supply package and in one aspect to a combination package and dispensing carriage for shipping, storing and dispensing developer powder. Developer powder as used herein refers to a dry particulate material which may be affixed imagewise to blank sheets of paper in a reproducing machine to correspond to the images on original documents.

Prior art developer powder packages have required that the operator pour the developer powder out of the package into a hopper in a reproducing machine. Developer powder is generally black and of small particle size. Unless extreme precaution is taken in pouring the powder a cloud of the fine powder particles results and some powder is invariably deposited on the hands and clothing of the operator. This is highly undesirable not only because of the appearance of the operator's clothing but also because the powder is difficult to remove from the operator's hands even with soap and water due to its small particle size.

According to the present invention a developer powder supply package is provided for shipping and storing the developer powder and for dispensing the powder in a reproducing machine without risking deposition of powder on the operator. A dispensing carriage is also provided which mates with and supports the package in an upright position for loading the package in the machine and which is rotatable to support the package in an inverted position within a reproducing machine to dispense the developer powder.

The present invention has the advantages desired of a developer powder supply package and comprises an elongate container having a body and a cover to form a chamber containing developer powder, the body being formed with a recess extending across 'its base for mating with a dispensing carriage and the cover being formed with sidewalls that extend away from the body to define an elongated developer discharge opening with at least two of the sidewalls spaced and converging away from the body to the discharge opening, and removable means secured to the cover sidewalls for covering the powder discharge opening during shipment and storage and removable to permit dispensing of the powder through the discharge opening.

The novel features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the following description which refers to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. Us a perspective view of a developer powder supply package made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a combination developer powder supply package and dispensing carriage made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 3 generally taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical detail view of the rear wall of the apparatus of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary rear view of the wall shown in FIG. 5.-

The developer powder supply package, generally designated 10, of the present invention comprises a container I2 having a body 14 and a cover 16, developer powder 18 within the container, and a removable covering strip 20 removably secured to the cover 16.

The container body 14 is formed with parallel sidewalls, parallel end walls and a curved base. It is formed with an elongated recess 22 in the exterior surface of its base extending its entire length. Along the free edge of the body 14 a lip 24 is formed around the entire body to receive the sidewalls 26 and 28 of. the cover for securing the cover 16 to the body 14 and forming a seal.

The sidewalls 26 and 28 of the cover 16 are formed to set in the lip 24 around the body 14 and extend away from the body with the transverse sidewalls 28 parallel and the spaced longitudinal sidewalls 26 having at least portions converging away from the body l4 without intersecting so as to form an elongated rectangular developer powder discharge opening 30 extending the length of the container body 14. At each end of the discharge opening 30 the cover 16 is formed with an overhanging ledge 36 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. A circular aperture 33 is formed in one transverse sidewall 28 of the cover 16. The container 12 is filled with developer powder 18 through this aperture 33 and a plug 34 is then secured to the cover 16 over the aperture 33.

The removable strip 20 is provided with sufiicient width and length to cover the developer powder discharge opening 30 and is adhered to the converging sidewalls 26 and the ledges 36 of the cover 16. The strip may be a strip of tape having a pressure-sensitive adhesive that will securely adhere the tape to the cover 16 during shipment and storage of the powder 18. In the illustrated embodiment, the strip 20 extends beyond the overhanging ledges 36 of the cover 16 and has a tab at each end extending beyond the ledges 36 for ease of removal when it is desired to dispense the contents of the package 10.

The body 14 and cover 16 of the container 12 are preferably formed of a similar thermoplastic material, for example, medium impact styrene, and may be made by any one of various molding operations, such as injection molding or compression molding. The cover 16 may then be secured to the body 14 by a solvent weld between their mating edges. With the cover 16 formed of a flexible thermoplastic material four equally spaced divider ribs 32 are preferably formed across the developer powder discharge opening 30 to prevent the opening 30 from being deformed as the strip of pressuresensitive adhesive tape 20 is applied.

The package 10 is illustrated in FIG. 3 in combination with a rotatable dispensing carriage made in accordance with the present invention and generally designated 38. The carriage 38 is usable with an applicator and comprises an external package support and positioning guide 45 and an internal package support 47. The carriage 38 is supported by a slide support housing 40 that is positioned between a pair of frame plates 42 and 43. The slide support housing 40 has a generally hollow cylindrical shape with a slot in its lowermost portion extending its length above a tray 49 (see FIG. 4) into which it is desired to dispense the developer powder 18. The housing 40 also has a pair of rectangular recesses 51 formed in its internal surface on a common horizontal plane and extending its entire length.

The external package support and positioning guide 45 is formed with a generally hollow cylindrical shape with its leading end truncated to a generally semicylindrical shape and the walls of its trailing portion being turned inward toward its axis to define an opening which may be aligned with the developer powder discharge opening 30 of the package 10. The inward turned walls also define a pair of converging walls 53 and 54 which are formed to mate with the converging walls 26 of the container cover 16 to position the package in the carriage 38. At its trailing end the external package support 45 is formed with a pair of ears 56 which extend radially from the external support 45 to fit in the recesses 51 in the slide support housing 40. The support ears 56 cooperate with the housing recesses 51 to guide the carriage 38 and to prevent rotation of the carriage while the ears 56 are in the housing recesses 51.

The internal package support 47 consists of a pair of end plates 60 and 61 connected by a rib 63 and a handle 65 ex tending from the forward end plate 60. The rib 63 has a length generally equal to that of the major portion of the package 10 and is formed to mate with the recess 22 in the container body 14 while itself being recessed along its length to be guided along a short rib 67 that normally protrudes from the lowermost portion of the external package support 45. The end plates 60 and 61 are formed to slide into the external package support 45 while supporting the overhanging ledges 36 at the ends of the package 10. An internal package support stop block 69 is secured to the base of the rib 63 and is slidable in a slot 71 formed in the base of the external package support 45 which cooperates with the stop block 69 to limit the extent the internal package support 47 may be telescoped with respect to the external package support 45. A pair of stop blocks 58 are also provided in the slide support housing recesses 51 to limit the telescoping of the external package support 45 with respect to slide support housing 40 by cooperation with the external package support ears 56. These blocks 58 and 69 are positioned so that the external and internal package supports 45 and 47 may be telescoped with respect to the slide support housing 40 an extent sufficient to position the internal package support 47 outside of the slide support housing 40 so that the package 10 may be easily placed on the internal package support 47 The frame plates 42 and 43 are formed with apertures aligned with the slide support housing 40 to permit the dispensing carriage 38 to be moved therethrough until the handle 65 extending from the internal package support 47 abuts the front frame plate 42. A cover 73 fits over the aperture in the rear frame plate 43. The rear frame plate 43 is formed with a thin wall 74 abutting the slide support housing 40 in which is formed rectangular recesses 75 aligned with the recesses 51 in the housing 40 to permit the ears 56 extending from the external package support 45 to pass therethrough into a space between the thin wall 74 and the rear cover 73. This space has a large enough diameter to permit rotation of the dispensing carriage 38. The length of the package supports 45 and 47 and the slide support housing 40 and the position of the stop block 69 between the package supports 45 and 47 are chosen such that as the handle 65 abuts the front frame plate 42 the ears 56 pass into the space between the thin wall 74 and the cover plate 73 and a key 77 extending from the rear of the plate 61 of the internal package support 47 passes through a key way 79 in the rear cover 73. The inner face of the cover 73 (as particularly seen in FIGS. 5 and 6) is formed to define an opening having a ledge 81 over a part of the opening and behind which the key 77 may rotate with the dispensing carriage 38 and a step 83 opposite the ledge with two edges for limiting the rotation of the key 77, and thereby that of the dispensing carriage 38, to 180 in one direction from its upright position.

In use, the internal package support handle 65 is pulled outward from the slide support housing 40 until the internal package support 47 is completely exposed. One end of the package 10 is then placed on the rib 63 of the internal package support 47 and the package 10 is slid into position in an upright posture with its recess 22 mating with the internal package support rib 63 and its overhanging ledges 36 resting on the end plates 61 and 60 of the internal package support 47. As the end of the package 10 first placed on the support rib 63 is slid into position, the converging sidewalls 26 of the cover 16 at that end are moved into position to mate with the converging walls 53 and 54 of the external package support 45. The pressure-sensitive adhesive strip may then be grasped at the rear of the package 10 and removed to expose the developer powder discharge opening 30 while the package 10 is held down by the converging walls 53 and 54 of the support 45. The handle 65 is then pushed back toward the slide support housing until it abuts the front frame plate 42. At this time the cars 56 extending from the external package support 45 pass into the space between the thin wall 74 of the rear frame plate 43 and the rear cover 73 and the key 77 extending from the internal package support 47 passes through the key way 79 in the rear cover 73. The dispensing carriage 38 may then be rotated 180 to support the container 12 in an inverted position with the converging walls 26 of the container cover 16 mating with and resting against the converging walls 53 and 54 of the dispensing carriage 38 to dispense the developer powder 18 through the discharge opening 30 into the tray 49. Rotation of the dispensing carriage 38 is limited to the 180 necessary to rotate the package 10 from an upright to an inverted position by the key 77 rotated to engage an edge of the step 83 in the rear cover 73. in the inverted position, the axial movement of the dispensing carriage 38 is restricted by cooperation of the key 77 with the ledge 81 of the rear cover 73 and by cooperation of the ears 56, which extend from the external package support 45, with the thin wall 74 of the rear frame plate 43. This prevents the inadvertent removal of the package when in the inverted position.

After the developer powder 18 has been dispensed, the dispensing carriage 38 may be rotated back to an upright posi tion with the key 77 abutting the other edge of the step 83 of the rear cover 73. The handle 65 may then be pulled away from the slide support housing 40 until the expended package 10 is free of the slide support housing 40. The package 10 may then be removed from the dispensing carriage 38 and a fresh package 10 may be inserted. The apparatus is then again ready to dispense developer powder 18.

Having thus described the invention with reference to a preferred embodiment,

What is claimed is:

1. In combination:

an elongate container having a body and a cover, said body being formed with carriage mating means and said cover being formed with sidewalls at least two of which are spaced and converge away from said body to define with other of its sidewalls an elongated developer powder discharge opening,

developer powder within said container,

a rotatable carriage formed to receive and support said container in an upright or an inverted position above an area into which it is desired to dispense said developer powder, said carriage having means to mate with said carriage mating means of said container and having means defining an opening to align with said discharge opening,

whereby when it is desired to dispense said developer powder said container may be placed in said carriage with said container upright and said carriage may be rotated to rotate said container to dispense said developer powder.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means defining an opening in said carriage to align with said discharge opening comprises converging carriage walls formed to mate with said converging walls of said container cover to position said container in said carriage.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said carriage mating means comprises wall means defining an elongated recess extending lengthwise across the exterior surface of the base of said body.

4. The combination of claim 1 including removable means secured to said sidewalls for covering said developer powder discharge opening for storage of said powder, removable to permit dispensing of said developer powder.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said rotatable carriage includes means for supporting said container with said means for covering said discharge opening exposed for removal, said supporting means being movable to carry said container into dispensing position in said carriage.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said carriage is normally positioned to support said container in an upright position and including means for preventing rotation of said rotatable carriage when said container supporting means supports said container out of said dispensing position.

7. The combination of claim 6 including means for limiting rotation of said rotatable carriage when said container is supported in said dispensing position to an angle sufficient to carry said container from an upright to an inverted position.

8. The combination of claim 7 including means for limiting axial movement of said carriage when said container is supported in said dispensing position and said carriage is rotated to dispose said container in an inverted position. 

1. In combination: an elongate container having a body and a cover, said body being formed with carriage mating means and said cover being formed with sidewalls at least two of which are spaced and converge away from said body to define with other of its sidewalls an elongated developer powder discharge opening, developer powder within said container, a rotatable carriage formed to receive and support said container in an upright or an inverted position above an area into which it is desired to dispense said developer powder, said carriage having means to mate with said carriage mating means of said container and having means defining an opening to align with said discharge opening, whereby when it is desired to dispense said developer powder said container may be placed in said carriage with said container upright and said carriage may be rotated to rotate said container to dispense said developer powder.
 2. ThE combination of claim 1 wherein said means defining an opening in said carriage to align with said discharge opening comprises converging carriage walls formed to mate with said converging walls of said container cover to position said container in said carriage.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said carriage mating means comprises wall means defining an elongated recess extending lengthwise across the exterior surface of the base of said body.
 4. The combination of claim 1 including removable means secured to said sidewalls for covering said developer powder discharge opening for storage of said powder, removable to permit dispensing of said developer powder.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said rotatable carriage includes means for supporting said container with said means for covering said discharge opening exposed for removal, said supporting means being movable to carry said container into dispensing position in said carriage.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said carriage is normally positioned to support said container in an upright position and including means for preventing rotation of said rotatable carriage when said container supporting means supports said container out of said dispensing position.
 7. The combination of claim 6 including means for limiting rotation of said rotatable carriage when said container is supported in said dispensing position to an angle sufficient to carry said container from an upright to an inverted position.
 8. The combination of claim 7 including means for limiting axial movement of said carriage when said container is supported in said dispensing position and said carriage is rotated to dispose said container in an inverted position. 